Noctophobic
by EmeraldFirebird
Summary: Arthur Kirkland, renowned horror novelist, has been having writer's block for the past two years, and it is putting a serious strain on his marriage. In an effort to help, Alfred Kirkland takes him to a vacation spot in the Pacific Northwest.


**Title:** Noctophobic (1/?)  
**Author:** Ryuuto  
**Series:** Hetalia

**Genre:** Horror/Action/Adventure/Romance/Suspense/Supernatural  
**Character(s)/Pairing(s):** UKUS, PrussiaCanada, Germany, France, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Italy (both), Germania, Rome, Denmark, Japan, Latvia, Greece, and Estonia  
**Rating:** High T, but it might go up because of language.  
**Warnings:** Boy love, language, violence, human names, AU, first person  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia or Alan Wake. The only profit I make is personal happiness.  
**Summary:** Arthur Kirkland, renowned horror novelist, has been having writer's block for the past two years, and it is putting a serious strain on his marriage. In an effort to help, Alfred Kirkland takes him to a vacation spot in the Pacific Northwest, namely Bright Falls. When Alfred is kidnapped by the very darkness he fears, it's up to Arthur to brave the dangers of the night to rescue him. His only clue to finding him is the manuscript of a story he doesn't remember writing.  
**A/N: **I felt that the idea was too perfect to pass up, so here I am, writing this. I've never written horror before, so I hope I do all right!

* * *

When you write a horror story, the main character should somehow attract the audience, make them connect to him. He must always ask the question, "Why?" The answer is simple: there is no reason, it just is. That's how I write my stories, and why I'm so successful. That mystery stays with the readers, impacts them in a way that they will never forget the fear that they feel. It's also how my living horror story goes, and like all horror stories, it all started with a dream. It was a weird one, strange even by my standards, and I write these things for a living.

I was driving down a coastal route, and I was going to be late getting home. With nobody on the road beside myself, I went over the speed limit. I needed to get home to Alfred; that was all that went through my mind. As I sped through the tunnel, I didn't notice the hitchhiker until I literally ran him down. Screeching to a stop, I got out of the car and ran to check his pulse. There was nothing I could do, as he was already dead. Cursing, I was convinced that I would be locked up, and never see Alfred again.

It was only for a second that I glanced away from his body, and when I looked back, he was gone. I scrambled back to the car, looking around wildly for him. There was no sign of him. I felt chills skittering down my spine, and a flash of light caught my attention. My eyes automatically locked onto the lighthouse to my right, and I felt an urgency to get there, as if it was the last safe haven on Earth. Steeling my nerves, I started forward into the foggy darkness of the night.

I exclaimed a mild oath when I saw that the bridge was completely destroyed. It looked as if a great tornado had ripped the middle of it out, like a spoiled child forcefully taking a favoured toy out of the hands of its sibling. I knew I had to take a different route, and I retraced my steps. To my left, I saw wooden steps leading to an old, creaking wood walkway. With no other option left, I took that path.

As soon as I reached the pool of light, there was a horrible roar, and the ground started to shake like a small earthquake. I glanced back behind me, and sucked in a sharp breath. There, standing on the stairs, an axe in hand was the hitchhiker. However, there was something horribly wrong with him. I saw that he literally seemed to be covered in shadow, and it hurt my eyes to look at him as he blurred in and out of focus.

Unarmed, I was no match for a madman with an axe, and I recognised this man. He was a hitchhiker who appeared in one of my novels, one that I was currently working on, and I could somehow tell that the blade was covered with the blood of his last victim. The man laughed, and it sounded wrong, distorted, as if he was possessed by the darkness that covered him.

"Remember me now, do ya, writer?" he chuckled out darkly, and I took an involuntary step back as he started to swing his axe, "Thinking you're God as you toy with our lives, killing us off when you think it adds to the Goddamn drama! Now that _you're_ in the story, I'll make you _**suffer**__!_"

Instead of listening to him, I ran down the walkway. I heard the horrid creaking of planks being ripped out of the way behind me, and my path abruptly ended in a small drop to what appeared to be a hiker's trail to the lighthouse. Without thought, I jumped down, and ran to my left, towards the lighthouse. I came to an abrupt stop in a circular area with a wooden gate in front of me. Also in front of me was the hitchhiker.

"It's only 'cause of your **editor** that your shitty stories are so **damn popular**!"

It was unnatural! There was no possible way he could have gotten there so fast! A thought tickled the back of my mind. Perhaps it was the darkness that was aiding him? Perhaps the darkness was…alive?

A guttural shout brought me out of my thoughts, and I barely dodged the swing of his axe. He recovered in a fairly short amount of time, and swung it at me again. I ducked, and ran toward the open gate, his dark, evil laughter following me at my back. The light bulb in the street lamp shattered as I neared it, and the wind picked up into a furious gale. I looked back, and I saw him laughing darkly at me.

"Well, writer? How does it feel knowing that you're gonna die by the hands of your own **creation**?"

It was like wind and darkness became on in a furious, roaring tornado. To my ears, it sounded positively bestial, and I ran down the rocky path. Light bulbs shattered as I neared the lamps, as if the darkness was too great for them to handle. I ran down another set of wooden stairs, and I became aware of a creaky, wood-plank bridge. It led to an old cottage, and there was light blessedly streaming from the open door. I heard a shout for me to hurry across the bridge, and blindly I followed the voices instructions.

As soon as I cleared the bridge, the darkness' force made it collapse in a sad heap in the bottom of the small canyon. I glanced at the young man, and I was dumbfounded. It was Clay Steward, another character in one of my horror novels. He gave me a shaky smile.

"Get inside, Mr Kirkland! Hurry!"

I was ushered inside, and then the door slammed, leaving Clay out to face the insane hitchhiker. He tried frantically to open the door, and turned when he sensed the presence of that sinister darkness. Clay pulled out a gun, and shot a few rounds into him, but it did nothing. Nothing penetrated that ugly, blurring darkness. The thought terrified me, to think that this man was immortal and impervious!

"Die! Goddamn it!" The hitchhiker continued to approach, just like a cat that cornered a mouse. He was slow, confident, and he raised the axe high above his head, poised to strike. I heard Clay scream, "NO! NO!" and then I saw the blade easily penetrate the poor man's skull. I flinched, horrified, and I couldn't look away as he brought the deadly weapon down two or three more times.

And then he looked up at me. I backed away, feeling like a trapped animal. Abruptly, the few tellies in the room switched on, and all that was on the screen was an eye, searching around the cabin. From out of the speakers, I heard maniacal laughter, and I knew that this place was a death trap. I ran to the other door.

"Damn!" The door was locked, and then the cabin shook violently, as if something heavy had careened into it. I staggered, trying to regain my balance, when it happened again. The wood walls moaned in agony, and a few of the miscellaneous objects in the room fell on top of me. I grunted, and then came a third, violent impact, and I thought I was going to die.

Abruptly, a strange, calming light filled the area, and I heard a bestial scream of terror, pain, and hatred. The door melted away, and I stepped outside of the cabin. I felt safe in this light.

"Please, follow the light. You're hurt, and you'll be safe there." I looked around for the body this calm, soothing voice belonged to. I saw nobody, just light. Weakly, I stumbled into the cold light of the street lamp, and did as I was told. When I felt I was strong enough, I stepped out to follow this light.

"I have to tell you something very important. Please remember this: he did not know that beyond the lake he calls home, lies a deeper, darker ocean green, where waves are wilder and more serene. To its ports I've been. To its ports I've been. Do you understand?"

I was completely baffled, and I shook my head. "No, I don't! What in the world are you talking about?"

The next thing I heard was something like a short circuit. The light didn't seem concerned as he told me to follow his light. It shone on the broken, wooden staircase, and it somehow repaired itself like one putting the pieces together in a jigsaw puzzle. The ground shook, and the wood creaked in such a way it made my bones ache.

When they were complete, I walked down them, following this strange light.

"I had to enter your dream to teach you important things about the darkness you will face. Forgive me for this harsh lesson, but it was needed," the soft voice explained, "Although the darkness you face right now is dangerous, it still sleeps. As soon as you near it, it will wake up. There's no time left, and I must teach you the most important thing."

He led me to an open area, and the street lamp's light faded out gently. There was enough room for me to move around, and there was a stump to my left. Abruptly, the hitchhiker appeared near the wooden gate in front of me. I gasped, and got ready to run, but oddly enough he didn't move. He just stood there, ready to use his axe, but made no move to do any sort of harm.

"All those touched by the Dark Presence end up like him," he said grimly, "With the darkness covering him like this, he will remain invulnerable. Take this flashlight, and shine it on him."

A light shone on the tree stump, and I saw a flashlight float gently down onto it. I hesitated, and then picked it up. After switching it on, I shone it on the hitchhiker. To my astonishment, he covered his eyes, and white sparks danced off of the darkness as it screeched in high-pitched agony. I almost dropped the torch, but I held on until there was a bright flash. All of a sudden, I could see him as clear as day.

"Wh-what?"

"The light will make those protected by the darkness vulnerable again. Yet, it still lives on inside of him. You can't save him, and he is still your enemy. Take the gun."

I shivered as I saw the handgun float down from the light, and took it with a shaking hand. Outside of a shooting range, I had never fired a gun at someone before. However, I trusted the light when it said that the hitchhiker was still a threat to me.

Abruptly, the hitchhiker moved toward me with a yell. Automatically, I shined the flashlight in his eyes, and fired five rounds into him. It wasn't enough, and he continued to come after me as I loaded the gun, stepping back as I did so. Out of fear, I unloaded two more shots into the man, and stared in shock as he fell, disappearing in a flash of golden light. I shivered uncontrollably as I gaped at where the hitchhiker used to be.

"Excellent. Please, remember this lesson," he sighed as if in regret, "I shall give you your dream, now."

The light flew off into the foggy night, and I felt terribly alone. I knew now why I needed to get to the lighthouse, why it was the last safe place on Earth. The darkness was taking over the world, and I needed the light in that place if I wanted to survive. Steeling myself, I walked toward the gate as it creaked open on its own.

My destination was closer now, and it filled me with relief. I continued walking, cautious of my surroundings. As I neared a broken, wood walkway, I jerked back when I saw a shadowed arm on the wood, pulling up the body it was attached to.

"I'm going to **kill** you, writer, and there ain't anythin' you can do to **stop it**."

He grinned insanely at me, and I brought up my flashlight like a shield. The darkness was burning away, but it was slow. I brought both hands on the torch to steady myself, and I willed the light to burn it faster. To my surprise, it did get brighter, and the hitchhiker brought an arm up to his face as the darkness around him screamed in agony. As soon as I saw that he was vulnerable again, I fired my handgun without a second thought. This time, I brought him down in three shots.

I went down the wooden platforms back onto sturdy ground, and saw a street lamp what felt like kilometres away. I sprinted toward it, and barely managed to dodge the slash of an axe. Turning and backing up, I saw not one, but two of the hitchhikers coming toward me. I turned my flashlight onto the closest one, blinding him for a moment. When the other got too close, I pointed it at him.

"Damn, damn, damn…." I muttered, moving the flashlight back and forth between the two enemies. There was a flash of light, and I automatically fired at the vulnerable hitchhiker. When he was down, I focused on the remaining man and reloaded my gun. As soon as I had enough bullets, there was another flash, and I shot him down.

It scared me at how easily it was coming to me.

I dashed into the light, and opened the red, emergency box. Inside were a flare gun, flare gun ammo, and some handgun bullets. Grimly, I took what was in the box, and rested for a moment. I was reluctant to leave the safety the light gave me, but I had no choice. I had to get to the lighthouse.

The wind stirred as I left the light, making my way down broken, manmade stairs. I found myself in a narrow path, high rocky walls on either side of me. Cautiously, I made my way forward at a light job, and stopped when I saw three hitchhikers running toward me, appearing out of nowhere.

"**Die!**" they screamed. I took out my new flare gun, and shot it in the middle of the three hitchhikers. There was a flash of bright, red light, and they all disappeared without a sound, the light too much for them. I followed the narrow path, and it opened into a natural, winding one.

At the end of the path was a wooden walkway that ended at a rock just above the road leading to the lighthouse. There was a street lamp there, and I was relieved that I was so close to safety. I ran, not looking back as more hitchhikers appeared from the shadows behind me. I had to ignore them, I couldn't waste anymore time.

As soon as I reached the street lamp, the men behind me disappeared, and the light bulb shattered. Startled, I looked behind me as the ground started to shake violently. All I saw was a tornado of wind and darkness slowly make its way toward me.

"I could keep this up **forever**, writer!"

I sprinted as fast as I could across the bridge leading to the lighthouse. A car flew above me, and crashed through the right side of the bridge. I veered left, and another car crashed a couple metres ahead of me. As I wound my way across, I finally made it to the front door of the building. I ran inside and closed the door just as the hitchhiker had about to close in on me for the killing blow.

Panting, I leaned against the door heavily for a few moments, and then ventured further into the building. I looked around in wonder, noting the winding staircase up to the revolving light above me.

Abruptly, it went out.

I glanced around in confusion, and then looked up. The darkness fell down toward me, and I crouched down, screaming in fear. The last thing I remembered was a man's voice, in almost a purr, saying two words that struck more terror into my heart than anything this nightmare had thrown at me.

"He's here."


End file.
